This invention relates to improved inflatable mattresses, methods and components for constructing and using the same. More specifically, the invention relates to improved mattress constructions used to assist a care giver in the prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers. Replacement mattresses have been designed to reduce pressures on the patient to below the typical hospital mattress and are intended to replace conventional hospital mattresses.
A typical bed used in nursing homes, hospitals, and other health care facilities employs a conventional mattress and box spring combination. Inflatable mattresses, such as waterbeds, are an inexpensive alternative to the conventional type of health-care bed. Waterbeds typically have a flat support and a rectangular frame enclosing the sides of a water-filled bladder that rests on the support. The bladder is covered with a protective sheet, and the patient rests on the covered bladder.
A drawback to waterbeds is that certain portions of a patient's body are heavier than other portions, and when the patient rests on the waterbed, the heavier portions push down into the waterbed's bladder. Thus, the water-filled bladder must be thick enough to prevent the patient from pushing down far enough to contact the hard supporting surface below. To prevent this contact, the waterbed bladder must be thick when filled with water. Consequently, the waterbed becomes heavy, making it difficult to move the bed without draining the bladder. If the patient must be moved, the patient must be lifted off the bed and put on a movable bed, or transport cart.
Another drawback to the use of waterbeds in health-care facilities is that dust or other particles may fall into the crevices between the bladder and the frame. Consequently, it is difficult to keep waterbeds clean and sterile.
Air-filled mattresses also suffer difficulties which have limited their use in health-care facilities.
It is well accepted to those skilled in the art that many factors play a role in the etiology and pathogenesis of pressure ulcers. Factors such as overall physical condition, mental status, activity, mobility, nutritional status and incontinence can all be used to assess the risk of a patient for the development of pressure ulcers. However, the primary cause is generally accepted to be an external pressure exceeding the internal capillary blood pressure of 32 mm Hg. As a result, pressure relief is a primary goal in the prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers. This goal prompted the Gaymar Industries, Inc. of Orchard Park, N.Y. to conduct a study published in April 1992 evaluating capillary pressure on the patient for various replacement mattresses and compare the results to pressures from a standard hospital mattress. The study revealed that of the seven hospital replacement mattresses studied, none were able to relieve trochanteric or heel pressure below that of capillary closure. Those tested did relieve pressure at the sacrum below the 32 mm level.